Gus Malzahn was introduced as the head coach at Arkansas State on Wednesday. (Ashley George)

Knowing where Gus Malzahn was a year ago, ASU Athletic Director Dean Lee was still a little stunned that ASU had just landed him as its 28th head coach. Lee's reaction post-Malzahn press conference was no different than most of the college football following public. Everybody was trying to make sense of how Malzahn wound up at Arkansas State, a school that won the Sun Belt title outright for the first time since joining the league. Could Lee have imagined hiring Malzahn was possible a year ago or, heck, even a week ago?